Total Area: 36 sq. miles; 32.4 sq. miles of land & 3.6 sq.
miles of water

Population: 84 residents

History of Forest Township

Forest
Township lakes and terrain were formed more than 10,000 years ago
with the retreat of the glaciers. By the 1600s, the Dakota Indians
were replaced by the Ojibwa people, who were followed by the first
white settlers. The first white settlers came in the 1800s drawn
here by the abundance of natural resources. Hunting, fishing,
trapping, logging, and farming spawned a local economy that blended
the cultures of the people of the area.

Permanent settlers meant the establishment of local government.
The geographic area now known as Forest Township was originally part
of Round Lake Township, which was established on June 20,1921. In
1978, Round Lake Township residents voted to rescind the township
zoning ordinance. This initiated 28 future Forest Township residents
to sign a petition dated January 4, 1979, to split from Round Lake
Township. The fundamental reason for the petition to form a new
township was prompted by the desire to protect the Bad Medicine Lake
area from overdevelopment. "Forest" was suggested as the name for
the new township. The first official meetings for Forest Township
were held at Bad Medicine Resort from 1979 to 1989.

The Forest Township Hall located at 35406 East Bad Medicine Lake
Road was built in 1989. The first meeting was held there on July 10,
1989.